JP Pomare’s latest crime thriller 17 YEARS LATER is his best yet. Layered, complex and well-crafted, with compelling characters and an intriguing plot, 17 YEARS LATER – Who Really Killed The Primrose Family? (Hachette 2024) demonstrates Pomare at the height of his powers. In this book, he has also mastered the art of the twist, giving readers not one but several heart-stopping moments that I absolutely did not see coming, and keeping up the pace and tension with more reveals until the final pages.
Told from several points of view, the novel centres on a topic that is currently popular with crime writers, the true-crime podcast. Set in Pomare’s home country of New Zealand (although we are definitely claiming him as our own), podcaster Sloane Abbott senses potential in an old case – not a cold case as often occurs with true-crime podcasts, but a horrific crime of 17 years earlier for which someone is still serving prison time.
Bill Kareama, a private chef with the wealthy Primrose family, was convicted of stabbing to death all four members of the household – dad Simon, mum Gwen, and the teenage children Elle and Chet. The brutality of the crime has cast a lingering scar on the small community of Cambridge, with everyone assuming justice has been done.
But Sloane tracks down Bill Kareama’s former prison psychologist, TK Phillips, a man who spent many years of his professional life convinced of Bill’s innocence. After neglecting other aspects of his life and suffering the consequences, TK has finally and firmly placed Bill’s case in the past. But with questions unanswered and possible new evidence, Sloane persuades TK to become involved again, to at least help her gain material for her podcast, and in the process TK finds himself becoming reinvested in the minutiae of the 17-year-old murders. As Sloane and her podcast crew uncover a growing list of potential suspects missed by the initial police investigation, most of the evidence still points squarely at Bill. And when the past intrudes into the present, uncovering the truth becomes even more urgent.
Pomare has used his Maori heritage to introduce complex characters that open a Pandora’s Box of questions about race, class, equality and prejudice. He handles this with curiosity and sensitivity.
Chapters are told in first person by Sloane, TK and Bill, and interspersed throughout are epistolary writing or entries that serve to broaden the mystery and heighten the intrigue. These include excerpts of police interviews, letters, newspaper reports and diaries.
17 YEARS LATER is skilfully and deftly plotted, with reveals and twists at exactly the right points in the narrative. The tension and pace create an unputdownable read with unexpected surprises and revelations. Pomare has tight control of the narrative, revealing crucial plot points at vital moments to create maximum tension.
Pomare consistently delivers quality psychological crime thrillers, but 17 YEARS LATER is definitely his best yet. Sharp, taut, clever, intriguing and surprising, with an interesting subtext about Maori and New Zealand culture, history and prejudice, this novel satisfies on all levels.